


The Curious Case of the Multi-Part Cutie Mark

by silveradept



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Epistolary, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 00:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13352784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: Twilight pens a letter to Celestia about many things, but mostly her curiosity about the Cutie Mark Crusaders' unique situation.





	The Curious Case of the Multi-Part Cutie Mark

**Author's Note:**

> Contains spoilers for events of the fourth, fifth, and possibly sixth seasons of the source, if you're just getting started.
> 
> May not be canonical with anything.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am thrilled that you continue to take an interest in my research on multiple-part cutie marks and their applications. These rare phenomenon seem to be formed from intense bonds between ponies at the moment of their cutie mark realization, and they seem to be a distinctly different phenomenon than familial similarities of cutie mark, although it's rather interesting having Apple Bloom incorporate her family trend and be part of the Cutie Mark triplicate while retaining the Apple symbol as part of her mark. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Unfortunately, I have only seen two examples of these elements in the wild, and neither of them are great subjects for experimentation. The Flim-Flam Brothers are unlikely to be of help in a way that would produce useful information, given their propensity for corruption, glibness, and get-rich-quick schemes. There's probably something interesting that their cutie marks are also apple-themed, perhaps as a signifier of being part of the Apple tree somewhere, but their attitude in relation to the rest of the Apples we know probably means they've long since discarded whatever virtues their Apple ancestor had.

Which leaves the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the only group of ponies I have regular access to that can help me understand this phenomenon more. As I have detailed in previous letters, however, their scholarship is atrocious and their study habits are nearly nonexistent. Apple Bloom is constantly being pulled away to help on Sweet Apple Acres, Sweetie Belle has more than a touch of Rarity's theatrics about perfection, which ultimately hinder her considerable talents, and Scootaloo idolizes Rainbow Dash, whose learning methods are unorthodox, but effective -- for Rainbow Dash. I can't seem to get them together long enough to ask them any questions before they're off on another adventure. Or Pinkie Pie comes over with a new thing from Sugarcube Corner, and it's all I can do to keep four sugar-powered ponies from destroying the library with their energy. It's exhausting.

There's only so much I can observe about them and try to draw conclusions from. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's marks show their influences fairly easily. Scootaloo accomplishes feats on the ground that Rainbow Dash thinks would be a great for the Wonderbolts to adopt as outreach to fillies and colts, so that earth ponies and unicorns could experience the same "thrill of speed," as she put it. It's no surprise she's adopted Rainbow Dash's lightning bolt to her own mark. Apple Bloom has all the work ethic and stubbornness of every other Apple I've met, as well as the handiness with tools and instruments. She seems happy to have a cutie mark that honors her family and her friends at the same time.

Sweetie Belle is the only one who seems to have her talent, rather than her affiliation, more clearly demonstrated on her mark. I know that Rarity sings quite a bit around the shop, so it's no surprise that Sweetie Belle developed a talent for it, but I wonder why she has a note instead of a variation on Rarity's gems? I don't want to jump to a conclusion about their relationship, but they don't seem to want to talk to me about it. I'm the Princess of Friendship -- it's my job to hear about these things! Maybe I can get more data if Sweetie Belle apprentices with Octavia and Vinyl Scratch to see where her talent might fit into the musical part of Ponyville. I've heard good things about the "DJ PON-3" program that Vinyl Scratch offers from time to time.

It's still frustrating to see so much new knowledge right here on my doorstep, and yet I can't seem to make heads or tails of it! I've tried to get their sisters to help me out and have them explain what was going on when they received their cutie marks, but the same problems plague the older ponies as do the younger ones -- neither Applejack nor Rarity stops working, and Rainbow Dash is...well, Rainbow Dash. The only way I could think of getting her to help me is if it appeared in a Daring Do novel. Which is not a bad idea, actually. I should contact A. K. Yearling and see if Daring Do could have an adventure that required intense research and scholarship about the creation of cutie marks. It would be a bestseller!

...I'm sorry. I digressed a little. What I wanted to write to you about was to ask if it would be a good idea to encourage ponies who don't have their cutie marks to get in groups of multiples of six. If we can get a six-part cutie mark, then we might have a ready-made group that can wield the Elements of Harmony together and demonstrate teamwork possibilities none of us have ever dreamed of! The possibilities of new magic and understanding about the Elements would be immense! We'd have entirely new books, new libraries of books, written on the subject! It would be great!

Sincerely,  
Your Student,  
Twilight Sparkle

\---

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I was charmed to receive your letter. I will give you my response to your request later, but for now I have a much more urgent need for your talents. A new set of artifacts that may belong to Starswirl the Bearded has been unearthed in one of the farther reaches of the Crystal Empire. The new material may contain a spell book that we had thought lost to time, and all of it is guarded by an enchantment that feels very strongly of the dark magic that King Sombra used. We need an expert on magic to go out and study the situation so that nopony gets hurt.

We can talk more about your proposal when you return, but for now, perhaps consider your own childhood - how happy would you have been to have five other ponies always around you? Now think about whether those other five ponies would share that opinion.

 

Be honest, Twilight.

 

Say hello to Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart for us.

-Celestia


End file.
